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Wednesday, October 23, 2013

In response to prayer, I began this comparison study in May of 2012. The version posted at that time included a lot of extra words, thoughts and ideas. Here it is again pared down a little and hopefully more illuminating.

Rom 1:1 NKJV - Paul, abondservant of Jesus Christ, called [to be] an apostle, separated to the gospel of God

Rom 1:1 ESV - Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,

Rom 1:1 NASB - Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,

The word “servant” relays the idea that Paul is a willing servant unbound by the letter of the law but by the will of God who called him and his own will to yield himself to the will of God. This theme is confirmed in: Rom 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? The word “bondservant” is not of holy inspiration, it fails to maintain integrity with the beginning and the end (the purpose and the fulfillment). The whole of the book of Romans is focused on the issue of willingly yielding ourselves to the righteousness of the law to walk in the paths laid out by the law out of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ who fulfilled the righteousness of the law on our behalf. This will become more important as we continue our journey through Romans.

Rom 1:2 KJV - (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)

Rom 1:2 NKJV - which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures,

Rom 1:2 ESV - which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,

Rom 1:2 NASB - which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures,

By the simple use of parenthesis and the past perfect tense of the verb “had” the King James transcribers revealed that God had declared the gospel through his promises and by his prophets in the holy scriptures. The imitations all missed the implication that “had promised- means a previously declared promise has been fulfilled”, “he promised” means the promise may or may not remain unfulfilled.” Another beauty of holiness is seen in analysis of the use of the word "afore" rather than the word "before". Consider: Afore vs Ahead now consider: Before and Behead. To go afore is to go ahead and point the way. To go before is to remove what went before. The purpose of prophecy is to shed light for believers to use in the present to direct their steps into the future. Let us all forget not the benefits of being ahead rather than being beheaded.

Rom 1:3 KJV - Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;

Rom 1:3 NKJV - concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh,

Rom 1:3 ESV - concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh

Rom 1:3 NASB - concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh,

Gen 1:26 ¶ And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:..

Exd 29:33 KJV - And they shall eat those things wherewith the atonement was made, to consecrate [and] to sanctify them: but a stranger shall not eat [thereof], because they [are] holy.

When our holy God chooses holy words to speak righteousness and to declare things that are right, those words mean things. The first Adam was made in the image of God. Jesus is the great I AM who existed before Abraham was [John 8:58]. Yet, Jesus, the second Adam, was made in the image of God, in the womb of Mary. The woman carries the egg in conception. The man provides the seed. Jesus was made in the image of God, of the seed of David (Mary was born of the seed of David) Jesus was not "born of the seed of David" he was born as the sinless second Adam. As the second Adam, Jesus was made in the image of God. As the saviour of the world, Jesus was made by God in the womb of the person who bore the seed of David. It was a miracle.

Just as a little teaser lets look at a few instances of the miracles that were made by the power of the holy spirit:

Psa 139:15 KJV - My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, [and] curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

Mar 2:27 KJV - …The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:

Luk 13:13 KJV - … immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.

Jhn 1:3 KJV - All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Jhn 1:10 KJV - He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

Jhn 1:14 KJV - And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Jhn 2:9 KJV - When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,

God seems to be in the business of making things the way he wants them to be. It seems when God says something “was made” by himself or by his Son he still looks upon it and says, “It is very good.” Today when we drink in the water of the word it is made the life blood of Jesus in our very souls as we are made in the image of Jesus Christ by the transforming power of the word of God and the infilling of the holy ghost.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

all scripture is copied from blueletterbible.com - all bolding, highlighting, font changes and elliptical editing are my own

STRENGTH: That property or quality of an animal body by which it is enabled to move itself

or other bodies.

STRENGTHEN: To make strong or stronger; to add strength to, either physical, legal or moral;

Now, do you think Paul wanted them fixed firmly in the faith or strengthened in their animal bodies to enable them to move themselves?

Doesn’t it strike you as strange that the ESV first distances their followers from God using “through” instead of by (Rom 1:5), further distances them from being beloved of God (Rom 1:7), frightens them into believing they need to “succeed” at something (Rom 1:10) (if only God will get out of the way and let them), then tries to strengthen them in their animal bodies (Rom 1:11)? Does it not strike you as a little confusing to have the followers of almighty God creator of heaven and earth trying to pump themselves up in their animal strength? This is of course after they have just removed the power of the second Adam having been made by the hands of God without sin... Nobody ever said the deceiver wasn’t subtle.

Put a pretty boy on the screen have him speak in a low well modulated voice, have him say all the words around the truth, just gut the heart out of the truth, wresting judgment from the poor in judgment is the goal of all lies, all lying doctrines and all deceivers. The deceived are deceived because they are poor in the judgment of God that God has declared in his holy word. They often know this and then grasp hold of a “priest” who is just a religious version of the previously described pretty boy. There is no substitute for sound judgment. Sound judgment comes only by knowing the law of the LORD. The imitations of the word of God separate people from the knowledge of the law of the LORD, the goodness of God, the stable position of being established in their faith. – again I am not saying the deceived (who are using the imitations to instruct others) are trying to deceive. I am saying the word itself has the deception embedded into it and it is done with such subtlety that our human tendency is to gloss over its importance. The deceiver need only plant the question in the mind of the poor in judgment, Did God really say? Then when the poor in judgment go to the word to obtain good judgment and find confusion, where is the seeker of truth supposed to go? We have a world filled with people calling good evil and evil good while at the same time holding up their preferred imitation of the word of God and saying “Find the answers here in the word of God!” The answers aren’t in the imitations because the imitations just lead to more unanswered questions. We have a nation filled with people who are afraid to say it is an abomination for a man to lie with another man as with a woman, it is an abomination to spill the blood of the innocent unborn, it is an abomination to send our boys and girls into unlawful, undeclared wars of greed and avarice, we have a nation that doesn’t know how to call evil evil and good good because those who have the charge of speaking righteousness and declaring things that are right don’t know right from wrong.

Rom 1:12 KJV - That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.

Rom 1:12 NKJV - that is, that I may be encouragedtogether with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.

Rom 1:12 ESV - that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine.

Rom 1:12 NASB - that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other's faith, both yours and mine.

Paul is saying that when he imparts the spiritual gift that ends in the establishment of their faith he will be comforted together with them because they will be of one mind, they will be of one accord in the faith that has been established in them because he imparted the spiritual gift to them. That is far more powerful than encouragement. This theme of being comforted by the holy spirit who leads us into all truth, being established in the faith, being in one accord, being like-minded is a continual theme that is consistently assaulted by the imitations.

Rom 1:13 KJV - Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.

Rom 1:13 NKJV - Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but was hindered until now), that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles.

Rom 1:13 ESV - I want you to know, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles.

Rom 1:13 NASB - I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles.

When a Christian purposes to do something, it is contingent upon their request being granted by God or their way being prepared by God. I purpose to do a lot of things. I continue to wait for God to make a way for me to do them. I have learned through experience that I can push through and do something according to my “plans” or I can purpose to do things as soon as God makes a way. I have purposed in my heart that I might not sin against God. As I walk in the paths he has prepared for me, I am successful in that purpose. His paths are not always the paths that are the most comfortable for me. I am comforted by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ through the comfort of the holy spirit and the comfort of the scriptures and I continue to watch and pray for the fulfillment of the promises and the purposes of my life. When Paul speaks of purposing to come to them, he is speaking of the request referred to in verse 1:10 where he is laying his request before God.

Hitherto is a perfectly acceptable word, it is just not familiar to us. It means “up until now”. If we had continued to use the single word, we wouldn’t have needed the three little words! This is no reason to throw out the whole of the holy word of God just because there is an obsolete word in the volume. Far better to update our vocabulary to include hitherto than to try to change the word of God.

Rom 1:14 KJV - I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.

Rom 1:14 NKJV - I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise.

Rom 1:14 ESV - I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.

Rom 1:14 NASB - I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.

I saw immediately there was a problem with the change from "unwise" to "foolish" because there is no value added to the text by the change. So, what was removed? I couldn't see it. I searched the bible for comparisons of wise and foolish. I left it alone because I didn't see the answer. Today, as I was sitting on my rocking chair enjoying the sunshine. Plop, there it came right into my mind and my heart! The wise work the commandments of God, the unwise do not. The unwise may believe in their heart that there is a God but they fail to work the commandments of God. The fool has said in his heart there is no God.

The wise are those who obey to do the work of the commandments of God. God gives wisdom to those who are wise of heart. The unwise may believe in God, they may know things about God, but to do the work of the commandments of God is not in their heart. The fool has said in his heart there is no God. The gospel is not given to the foolish. The gospel is given to the unwise and the wise. The foolish are like the swine that will not hear the pearls of wisdom cast before them because in their hearts they say there is no God. The unwise can benefit from the pearls of wisdom because the unwise may hear and turn and repent unto righteousness. The fool will turn and rend you, the unwise will fail to do the work. The two terms are very similar and it is not for us to try to determine who is the fool or who is the unwise. It is for us to know the truth and obey God's commandments to do the work of going into all the world and preach the gospel of repentance toward God and his righteous commandments and to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The gospel is for the wise (who are already doing the works of righteousness and need to hear about the saviour) and the unwise (who are not doing the commandments of God and need to hear about the law and about the saviour).

What is hard to understand about the word “debtor”? Nothing? Then perhaps you can see that the imitations used two words and more letters to add no value to our understanding or edification. What caused them to do this? The deceiver has a reason for his illusions even if the only effect is to make us doubt the inerrancy of the word of God.

Today I was thinking about this use of the phrase "under obligation" rather than "debtor" it occurred to me that we have been freed from the weight of sin that we held because we were under the obligation of the inherited sin that came through the blood of our fathers through the first Adam. When Jesus died and we believed on him, we had that obligation removed from our shoulders. Now, we are debtors to Jesus who paid the price of our sin and has freed us from the obligation to pay it back. Now, we are not under obligation to pay the debt back to Jesus because he said, "it is finished". We are debtors to his love. In one place it says, "owe no man anything except love." Love is not something that can be paid under obligation. Love must be freely given or else it is a burden that must be met which puts it under the category of works of the law rather than a free will offering of love out of gratitude for the gracious gift of mercy and grace that we have received. No, we are not under obligation. We are debtors to the grace of God that was freely given to us. This is just another instance of the subtle difference between the holy word and the imitations. The very life of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that we have been freed from the burden of our sins which are past. We are debtors to be filled with gracious happiness and joy (like the leper that came back to thank Jesus) because of the willing sacrifice that purchased our freedom. He said, "It is finished." because if we were obligated to pay him back for the debt we owe we would still be under the burden of sin. We wouldn't have the resources to pay him back the debt that we owe. We are under no obligation, but our gratitude will overflow into faith empowered works of righteousness under the law to honor Christ who redeemed us.

To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law.

Rom 1:15 KJV - So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.

Rom 1:15 NKJV - So, as much as is in me, [I am] ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.

Rom 1:15 ESV - So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

Rom 1:15 NASB - So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

I am eager to do a lot of things. I am ready to do a very few. Eagerness does not equate to readiness.

Rom 1:16 KJV - For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

Rom 1:16 NKJV - For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

Rom 1:16 ESV - For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.Omitted Christ from the gospel!

Rom 1:16 NASB - For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.Omitted Christ from the gospel!

Why do the imitations cast doubt and confusion by changing the agreement of the articles? Why omit the Christ of the gospel? The gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation. Why is it important that we know that the gospel is the power unto salvation and not just "for" salvation? Because we must work out our salvation with fear and trembling. The gospel message is a message of repentance toward God for the remission of sins, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, baptism into the death of our flesh and raised to the newness of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Salvation is a daily experience as well as an eternal experience. The gospel is a path leading to a destination. Jesus came filled with grace and truth so that we can reach our destination of holiness and receive the crown of righteousness which is laid up for us in heaven by Christ Jesus.

Basically, "for" makes salvation a stagnate event. The power of God is not stagnant. When Jesus said, Before Abraham was, I AM. He was identifying himself as one with the Father even the great I AM. One beautiful thing about that is that Jesus is the great I AM eternally present. Jesus is there when we were born. He is present unto salvation eternally past, present and future. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes; to the Jew first and also to the Greek. So, if I was born in 1978 and I was saved in 1999, Jesus is eternally present in all of the years from 1978 through eternity. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation to those who believe. If I need salvation (healing - things of the past to be made right in my present) Jesus is there in my past ready to heal me in the present. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Salvation is the power of God operating to transform things that are not right into things that are right. Righteousness is about making things right. Some things were not right. The gospel is the power of God to make things right - Hallelujah! Jesus makes all things work together for good for those who are in Christ Jesus. Hallelujah! Jesus heals the broken hearted and transforms the broken heart into a heart of compassion whereby we may comfort those who are hurting with the comfort we have received. Comfort is available to all those who believe unto salvation. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation for those who believe. What is not to love about that?

Rom 1:17 KJV - For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

Rom 1:17 NKJV - For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."

Rom 1:17 ESV - For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith."

Rom 1:17 NASB - For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, " BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH."

The reason God had the recorders of his word use the term “from faith to faith” rather than “from faith for faith” is because as previously stated in verse 16: the gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes (faith): from the faith of the Jew (first) and also to the faith of the Greek. So, in the gospel of Christ the righteousness of God is revealed from the faith of the Jew to the faith of the Greek. Simple, complete, holy – righteous. From faith for faith makes no sense in the context of the message.

Rom 1:18 KJV - For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

Rom 1:18 NKJV - For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress thetruth in unrighteousness,

Rom 1:18 ESV - For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

Rom 1:18 NASB - For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,

Now, why did the imitations all miss it again? A person who holds the truth in unrighteousness is normally ignorant of the righteousness of God in relation to the truth he is holding in unrighteousness. A person doesn’t have to be suppressing the truth in order to hold the truth in unrighteousness. The condition of righteousness is determined by the agreement or lack thereof with the spoken righteousness of God (the things he has declared to be right).

Everyone who bases their gospel upon the imitations of the word of God is holding the truth of God in unrighteousness! They don’t know any better! The imitations themselves are filled with unrighteous representations of the truth of God. The imitations hold the truth in unrighteousness! The people who know enough to suppress the truth are most often those in the highest levels of corruption. The lower levels just allow the good judgment that is available to them to be wrested from them by those who rule over them in unrighteousness. Whether a person holds the truth in unrighteousness because their information is faulty or whether they hold it in unrighteousness because they have designs to suppress the truth, either way they hold the truth in unrighteousness. The King James transcribers recorded the inspired words revealing the righteousness God spoke through the law of Moses, the prophets and the apostles. Everybody else just thought they could use the corrupted tools at their disposal and muddle through leaning on their own expanse of knowledge and understanding (their intellect). It doesn’t work that way.

Rom 1:19 KJV - Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed [it] unto them.

Rom 1:19 NKJV - because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown [it] to them.

Rom 1:19 ESV - For what can be known about Godis plain to them, because God has shown it to them.

Rom 1:19 NASB - because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.

Let’s talk about the difference between “manifest”, “plain” and “evident”. To be manifest means that something they have done is resulting in a manifest response to what they have done. They may or may not know why it is manifesting. It is manifesting because they have held the truth in unrighteousness. When a man gets aids because he has held what may be known of God in the natural order of His creation in unrighteousness, he is manifesting in his body the consequences of holding what may be known of God in unrighteousness. It is seldom plain to him that this is what is happening. The consequences of his choices is manifesting in his body. Whether the reason is plain or evident to him does not enter into the manifestation. The laws of nature and of nature’s God operate the same as gravity. These manifest consequences occur whether the party experiencing the manifestation acknowledges them or not. Plain and evident does not reflect the reality of what is manifesting in them. Most of the time it is not plain to them and it is not evident to them it is merely manifest in them the same as a man that jumps from a tall building is splattered on the ground. The splatter is manifest whether the man knew what he was doing when he jumped or not.

Rom 1:4 KJV - And declared [to be] the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:

Rom 1:4 NKJV - [and] declared [to be] the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.

Rom 1:4 ESV - and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,

Rom 1:4 NASB - who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,

Rom 1:5 KJV - By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:

Rom 1:5 NKJV - Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name,

Rom 1:5 ESV - through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations,

Rom 1:5 NASB - through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name's sake,

All nations (Jew and Gentile) have received grace and apostleship by him. That is by his own power - not through the Father's power: Jesus' cry "My God, my god, why hast thou forsaken me" is proof that he faced hell by himself. The power of the spirit of holiness was demonstrated to be with him by the resurrection from the dead. He earned the presence of the spirit of holiness by his own righteousness.

The purpose of them having received grace and apostleship was for obedience to the faith. The grace and apostleship are provided for obedience but there is no guarantee that it will bring about the obedience of the Jew or the Gentile. It is provided for those who will believe. It will not "bring about the obedience", but it does provide the opportunity for obedience.

Rom 1:6 KJV - Among whomare ye also the called of Jesus Christ:

Rom 1:6 NKJV - among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;

Rom 1:6 ESV - including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,

Rom 1:6 NASB - among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;

We are among those of all nations called into the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a confirmation of the afore mentioned

Rom 1:7 KJV - To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called [to be] saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Rom 1:7 NKJV - To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called [to be] saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Rom 1:7 ESV - To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Rom 1:7 NASB - to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

If we want to carry my little "afore vs before" example on down this path, compare: Beloved vs Beheaded Beloved presents the heart with an awareness of intimacy that is hidden in its depths. When a person is beloved another, that other person has severed a piece of his heart from his own control and given it to the person he loves. A person who is beloved by another person is carrying around a piece of that person's heart within himself. A transaction has occurred. I can be loved by another person and unless I receive that love into my own heart, I am still just loved -- not beloved. If I haven't accepted the love of Jesus I am still just loved. When I receive his loved he knows me and will never say depart from me for I never knew you, I am beloved -- he knows me, he dwells in me, I am his and he is mine. I am most thankful to know that I am beloved of God.

Rom 1:8 KJV - First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.

Rom 1:8 NKJV - First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.

Rom 1:8 ESV - First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world.

Rom 1:8 NASB - First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world.

Believer's are not supposed to have their faith proclaimed, the gospel is meant to be proclaimed. Spoken of is more about fame built upon gossip than about proclamation. Fame is built upon word of mouth passage of rumor, information and mis-information. For example: Acts gives a great scene of Felix having heard of the uproar going on and wanting to hear from Paul what the truth really was. Their faith was being spoken of by people throughout the whole world. This type of fame brought greater opportunities for the apostles to preach the gospel.

Rom 1:9 KJV - For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;

Rom 1:9 NKJV - For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers,

Rom 1:9 ESV - For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you

Rom 1:9 NASB - For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you,

Paul served with his spirit in the gospel. Paul also put his flesh to death with his spirit. Paul had a very clear, distinct understanding that he worked with his spirit to serve God. Paul served God in the full gospel of Jesus Christ – not just in the preaching of it.

Rom 1:10 KJV - Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.

Rom 1:10 NKJV - making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you.

Rom 1:10 ESV - always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God's will I may now at last succeed in coming to you.

Rom 1:10 NASB - always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you.

There is no reason to suppose that Paul had made any attempt to go to Rome, or that he was trying to find a way to go to Rome. What it says is Paul was making a request of God and watching and continuing in prayer for the same that at the proper time he would have a prosperous journey to Rome. “Succeeding” at “finding a way” to get to Rome is often an Ishmael in progress. A prosperous journey can only be obtained by the grace of God granting a request or giving a call to service. The King James transcribers once again chose the only holy path available, and reached the goal of righteousness.

About this Blog

1Cr 10:15 I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say.
This is one person's attempt to re-arm ourselves with the knowledge of what our republic is and what it takes from each individual in order to keep this republic for ourselves and for our posterity.
e-mail: remindingtherepublic@yahoo.com